Hello to all you early birds who like to catch poetic worms and those who arrive a little later! I’m Kim from Writing in North Norfolk, welcoming poets to this October’s final Quadrille, in which we take any meaning of one word and transform it into 44 poetic words.

We all know that ‘early’ is an adverb – from Old English ǣrlīce, influenced by Old Norse árliga – and an adjective that dates from Middle English, with the early bird of the proverb originating in the 1670s.

‘Early’ means happening or done before the usual or expected time, as in “we ate an early lunch” and belonging or happening near the beginning of a particular period, as in “an early goal secured victory”. But did you know that it can also be a noun? Earlies are potatoes which are ready to be harvested before the main crop; they can also be early shifts, as in “she is on earlies”.

‘Early doors’ is a phrase particularly linked with football (soccer) and we say ‘early days’ when we think it’s too soon to make a judgment about the likely result of something because a lot might still happen or change. We might make an ‘early start’, receive an ‘early warning’ or have an ‘early bath’. I am an ‘early riser’ and I think we all know the saying ‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise’. One of my favourite phrases for early morning is ‘crack of sparrow fart’!

A couple of poems about early morning caught my attention. The first is by Hilaire Belloc and is almost (by four words) a Quadrille:

The Early Morning

The moon on the one hand, the dawn on the other:
The moon is my sister, the dawn is my brother.
The moon on my left and the dawn on my right.
My brother, good morning: my sister, good night.

This week I’d like you to think about early experience, early childhood, being early for an appointment or date, early blooming or early retirement – it’s up to you, just as long as you write a poem of exactly 44 words (not counting your title), including the word early.

Here’s how to Quadrille:

– Write a poem of exactly 44 words, including the word early.
– Put your poem on your blog and link back to this post.
– Link it up to our Mr. Linky.

– Don’t forget to check the little box to accept use/privacy policy

– Visit other blogs. Enjoy some amazing poets. Comment. Come back later this week and write another one, and visit some more. Comment some more. Create as many poems as you please, including ones with all the words. You don’t have to be early as the Quadrille lasts all week!

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About kim881

A retired teacher, I am originally from London; lived in Cologne, Germany for nearly eight years, and the Republic of Ireland for two years, where I gave birth to my daughter. I have lived in North Norfolk in the UK for twenty three years.
Reading and writing have been a huge part of my life since I was very young. I used to write mainly poetry, moved on to short stories, and finished my first novel for children aged 8+ at the beginning of this year: a ghost story set in London in the Second World War. I am currently writing a novel for older children, another ghost story, this time set in North Norfolk.
I am an examiner and moderator for English and English Literature, and a volunteer at local libraries, leading Bounce and Rhyme for babies and toddlers, as well as a Chatterbooks reading group for older children. Contact with children keeps me young and alive. I can't wait to have grandchildren.
Our two cats run wild in our overgrown garden that is also occasionally home to deer, hedgehogs, owls and dragonflies, and a huge variety of other birds and wildlife. I can see it all from my desk; it's peaceful, green and food for the imagination.
Apart from being a huge Radio 4 fan, I love music, theatre and anything in the horror genre.

It’s morning again over here in the UK, V.J., and the weather is grey and windy. The trees in our garden are whipping it up – I just hope they don’t bring down the power lines. We’ve had a forecast of an arctic blast of snow later in the week and I’m not looking forward to it.